Wolves v Huddersfield: Low-down on The Terriers

We spoke with Rory Benson, Huddersfield Reporter for Examiner Live, and John McNamara, writer for TerrierBlog, to get a proper look at David Wagner's men.

See what they had to say here...

Huddersfield have been tipped for relegation this season having not started too well in terms of position in the table - how have they actually been playing this season? Have performances been good enough?

RB: Town began the season with a tough run of fixtures, facing Chelsea, Manchester City, Tottenham Hotspur and Liverpool in their opening nine matches.

That run was completely different to their start last year, when they beat Crystal Palace and Newcastle United in their first two matches to reach the summit of the top-flight table.

I personally don't think the performances have been any worse than last year's and Town have deserved more from their first 12 games.

The issue David Wagner's side has is an inability to score goals and that could cost them this season.

Both Laurent Depoitre and Steve Mounie, Town's two strikers, are yet to hit the back of the net and the Terriers have scored just six times in their first 12 outings - one of which was an own goal.

If Town are to turn their season around and earn the points their performances deserve then they are going to have to learn how to put the ball in the net - and quickly.

JM: I think it’s important to look at the context of our results so far this season – we’ve played Chelsea, Man City, Tottenham, Liverpool, Everton, Burnley and Leicester, some of the better teams in the division.

In general we’ve played well in those games and we have been on the wrong side of decisions and bereft of luck.

Whilst we do have our issues in front of goal, I feel we don’t deserve to be as far down the table as we are.

What sort of transfer business did Huddersfield do over the summer?

RB: Town made the loan deals of Jonas Lossl and Florent Hadergjonaj permanent in the summer before purchasing last season's standout loan man Terence Kongolo for a club-record fee.

The Terriers brought in back-up keeper Ben Hamer from Leicester City, young midfielder Juninho Bacuna from Groningen, German World Cup-winner Erik Durm from Borussia Dortmund and pacy AS Monaco winger Adama Diakhaby all for undisclosed fees.

Ramadan Sobhi was signed from relegated Stoke City for £5.7m and youngster Demeaco Duhaney joined on a free transfer from Manchester City.

Isaac Mbenza was the only loanee to be brought in over the summer, with the winger signing temporarily from Montpellier.

In terms of first-team outgoings, Town sold defenders Michael Hefele and Scott Malone and forwards Joe Lolley, Sean Scannell and Tom Ince and released goalkeeper Rob Green.

Dean Whitehead retired to join Town's coaching setup.

JM: David Wagner identified the wings as an area of weakness over the summer and sought to rectify that in the transfer window.

Ramadan Sobhi, Isaac Mbenza and Adam Diakhaby were brought in to bolster the squad in these areas and add an extra injection of pace into the squad.

What have you made of Huddersfield's aforementioned transfer business?

RB: Town made a statement by breaking their transfer record again this season to bring in defender Terence Kongolo.

The Dutchman has proven his quality in the season and a quarter he has spent at Town and looks worth every penny of the fee Town paid for him.

Erik Durm also looks a top-quality signing, while Isaac Mbenza and Adama Diakhaby have brought pace to the side.

Both wingers have been less impressive however and need to bring more creativity to the team than they have done thus far this term.

Ramadan Sobhi has struggled with injuries in his first few months as a Terrier, while Juninho Bacuna and Ben Hamer have made just three appearances each so far.

Town cannot compete with most Premier League teams in terms of finance and had to buy in less crowded markets over the summer.

All of those they have brought in look to have potential, but, in the Premier League, potential means nothing if you aren't collecting points.

JM: Unfortunately it’s been very poor. Mbenza and Diakhaby have made fleeting appearances and have failed to impress in those cameos. Ramadan Sobhi has played around 15 minutes of football this season too which is hugely disappointing.

Ben Hamer and Juninho Bacuna were other summer acquisitions, the former shipped six goals at Manchester City in his second game and looked incredibly poor.

The latter scored an own goal from around 45 yards in the League Cup clash against Stoke, so it’s hard to say our new buys have been anything other than underwhelming.

David Wagner was obviously hailed for bringing the Terriers up and keeping them in the league last season - will pressure start to build on him if he can't keep them out of the relegation zone this campaign?

RB: Not at all. Chairman Dean Hoyle backed the boss at the start of last season and the current campaign, claiming he would not replace the head coach even if the Terriers were relegated.

Promises like that are not always held in football, but the connection between club, coach and supporters is different in Huddersfield.

Wagner will have a job at the John Smith's Stadium until he chooses to leave because of what he has brought to this corner of West Yorkshire - top-flight football for the first time in 45 years.

JM: Absolutely not. Wagner raised this club from the depths of the Championship to the Premier League in next to no time so he deserves to keep his job and attempt to pull off another miracle.

Obviously there have been one or two dissenting voices on social media after heavy defeats, but that criticism comes from fans that were ‘supporting’ Liverpool by watching a mid-week game on TV whilst Town were playing Scunthorpe just five miles down the road.

The Terriers got a morale-boosting win over Fulham before a draw with West Ham before the international break, has that short run boosted confidence in the camp?

RB: Absolutely. Town deserved more from their opening to the season and confidence was down before the Fulham match due to a run of bad luck.

Town and Man City have hit the woodwork more times than any other team this season and it seemed nothing would fall the right side of the goal line for the Terriers before the Fulham win.

But that goal and first victory of the season came at the John Smith's Stadium against Slavisa Jokanovic's former side and the relief around the ground was palpable.

Town were dominant in their following match against West Ham and deserved to win, but were pegged back by a late equaliser, which was a bitter blow to take.

But Town will be pleased with their performances, even if they have not been reflected in the league table as of yet, and will be confident that results have started to turn.

JM: It’s hard to say really as a lot of the players looked deflated after the draw against West Ham. Town utterly dominated that game and could and perhaps should have been three goals up at half-time.

However the same old story of profligacy in front of goal struck again and we were punished by a terrific goal from Felipe Anderson.

The squad have every reason to be confident after the performance, but might be somewhat downbeat after the result.

How do you expect David Wagner's side to line-up against Wolves and in what system?

RB: Wagner has tended to use three centre backs this year, with Christopher Schindler, Terence Kongolo and Mathias 'Zanka' Jorgensen providing the foundations of the team ahead of goalkeeper Jonas Lossl.

Danish centre half Zanka is suspended for the clash however, with Jon Gorenc Stankovic his ready-made replacement.

Aaron Mooy, Philip Billing and Jonathan Hogg have impressed in the middle this season and will likely continue in the heart of midfield, while Alex Pritchard has become Wagner's first-choice playmaker and will likely start up front with either Laurent Depoitre or Steve Mounie.

JM: There will be no surprises from David Wagner against Wolves.

We’ll line up with three centre-backs, play a high-line, press you incessantly in your own half and look to get balls into the box to either Laurent Depoitre or Steve Mounie.

Do Huddersfield Town have any injury worries heading into the game with Wolves?

RB: Left back Chris Lowe will likely miss the match after damaging his shoulder ligaments in Town's last match against West Ham United.

Danny Williams could return for the clash after struggling with a knee injury at the start of this season, while Erik Durm and Terence Kongolo returned from knocks to feature in the Terriers' most recent clash.

Aaron Mooy will hope to play against Wolves after an international break of travel to and from his home country of Australia.

JM: Danny Williams may be set to return to action after a long injury lay off, but other than that there are no worries on the injury front.

What have you made of Wolves from afar? Do you think they have what it takes to finish in mid-table this season in the Premier League?

RB: I haven't seen much of Wolves this season, but their performances against the likes of Manchester United, Man City and Arsenal have been impressive.

With their recruitment over the summer, I don't think many expected Wolves to finish anything less than mid-table and they look to be on track to comfortably secure a second season in the top flight.

Another summer of similar recruitment and there's no reason Wolves can't challenge for a top-half finish or above next term.

JM: I couldn’t care less about Wolves and their season so far as for me, the club embodies everything that is wrong with modern day football.

There’s no glory in winning promotion from the Championship with a magnificent squad sourced through questionable means.

Likewise there’s no glory in finishing mid-table with a squad such as Wolves’.

I wholeheartedly feel any success Wolves have will feel hollow for the fans.

Football is supposed to be a great leveller and a game for the people, unfortunately the ownership of Wolves, Man City and PSG make a mockery of that.

Your match prediction?

RB: I fancy Town to take a point from this one. 1-1.

JM: 3-1 Wolves and a loss for traditional football.

You can follow Rory on Twitter by searching for @rorybenson. Meanwhile, you can see John's work here.